


Poison in his Head and in his Quiver(-Watch them Foam, Watch them Twitch, Watch them Shiver)

by JBreaker2033



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Dallicante is a jovial serial killer that gets paid to kill. Thats basically it, Dark, Hes polite tho. So it balances itself out lol., Poison, Slice of Life, will is curious. But he is also careful.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 19:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21379138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JBreaker2033/pseuds/JBreaker2033
Summary: Dallicante "Vincent" Vinci is the only Genovesan Ranger in the Corps....although it is a learning opportunity, do Not mistake this for a Good thing.It isn't.(The people who burn, with bloody scratches on their bodies, and Fire in their veins, agree.)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Poison in his Head and in his Quiver(-Watch them Foam, Watch them Twitch, Watch them Shiver)

The ranger that Halt had pointed to was sitting near a fire, his cloak off and his quiver empty.

Will had to blink to make sure he was seeing things correctly. So did Halt and Crowley. 

The man was laying the tips of his arrows in the embers of the fire, and even from the line of tents they could see the metal slowly turning red hot. 

"Vincent, what in gods name are you doing to your arrows?" Crowley asked, jogging over. Halt walked and Will hurried to follow. He was most _definitely_ interested in this.

Vincent looked up from what he was doing with a slight grin on his lips. 

"You know I tip my arrows with poisons and paralytics, Crowley. The one I am using now is-oh. Do you happen to be Will? Halt's boy?" Will almost jumped at that. _Halt's boy? _

"I'm, uh- I'm not his son. I'm his apprentice." Will replied, scratching the back of his neck and offering a smile. 

"Ah! My mistake. It is very nice to meet you, Will! You are the boy that scaled the walls of Redmont before being apprenticed, yes?" Vincent took another arrow and laid it in the embers of the fire. He looked it over for a second and re-positioned it before nodding and turning to face the trio again. 

Will nodded, his face heating a bit at the mention of what happened before becoming a Ranger's apprentice, looking more closely at the arrow tips. There seemed to be...

"Is that...sap, on the arrows?" 

He _thought_ it was, atleast. The closer he looked, the more he could see the bumps and shine of a...a sort of _gel_, on them. 

"Ah...sort of. It is a special type of sap mixed with animal poison. Very good eyesight, this one. Is he any, ah...great shakes at the bow, Halt?"

"He's good." Halt answered, voice even. Will nearly glowed with pride. A compliment from _Halt_ was few and far between, for sure.

The man just huffed a laugh and nodded, gesturing towards the stumps of wood around the fire. Crowley sat down with a smile. Halt did the same, though without the smiling, peering at the arrows with an expression he couldn't quite place. 

Will simply decided to sit next to Vincent. 

"That is wonderful! Now, time to explain! I recently got another shipment of poisons from home, and one I specifically requested was _Ember Skin Poison._ I cannot tell you the animal which the _poison_ comes from, but the sap comes from a Fuoco tree, native to Genovesa. The sap is hard to drain, and you cannot touch it without gloves. It has the effect of creating a burning sensation when it touches skin. Very painful on it's own, and very rare."

He picked up two arrows that hadn't touched the fire yet and handed one to Halt and one to Will himself. He accepted it, but made sure to keep his hands as far away from the tip as he could.

"Of course, the sensation only lasts for a couple minutes on its own, so not...entirely _life_ threatening. However, it has the effect of lasting much, much longer when mixed with the animal poison and other things. The process is...intricate. The sap must be drained when the leaves are gone, and put into a cool area. The animal's poison is stored in a sac near the neck, and you must remove the...outside, I believe, very carefully. The poison must be heated in a pot first, with the sap being added an hour later. It is mixed for around 30 minutes, with handfuls of crushed ivy being thrown in every 10 minutes. After that, it is bottled in jars. That is the...the...simple! The simple way." Vincent finished, inspecting the tip of one of the arrows from the fire, flashing a smile at them.

The arrows in the fire smelt like...sugar. Like burnt sugar. 

Will looked over, and Halt and Crowley seemed almost enamoured with the explanation. He could see a couple of other Rangers also listening in.

"And the affects?" Crowley asked, twirling the arrow until Halt shot him a look. 

"Burning. Very, very painful burning. The ivy adds an unbearable itch to it all, drives some people crazy. The poison itself has no symptons until hours later, by then the mixture has gone through the body. What feels like itching inside your organs, burning wherever blood passes through, sweating, very high body temperature, and slight hallucinations." Vincent replied, grabbing a jar from inside his pack.

The mixture was crimson red, having the texture of...really soft candle wax, almost. 

Ember Skin Poison. A shiver went through Will. He'd never heard of something this...dangerous, before. It sounded painful.

"After atleast a day of this, they die if they do not get the cure. One of my favourites, this one. Shame I only get to use it every few years." Vincent murmured, setting the jar down. 

He was smiling.

Will looked at the arrows again, feeling uneasy.

"So...why do you need to heat the tips?"

"Well, the mixture is naturally soft. I dip It in and if I do not heat it, it will wipe off or slide off or...any nature of things, really. Once it is solidified, only something wet will let it melt quite easily. Blood is one of those things, so it is very convenient." Vincent explained, talking like one would talk about the day.

How could he be so...so relaxed, about this? Will had never met another person that was so open about...

Well. Killing.

_(And torture, Will thought. Something that painful was tantamount to torture.)_

Crowley looked a little pale, and Halt was looking at Vincent with a...grimace, almost. Will couldn't really look him in the eyes. 

The Genovesan Ranger was..._unusual_, Will thought to himself.

To say the least.

_(He stayed away from the Ranger for the rest of the gathering._

_He was never quite able to wash out the smell of burnt sugar on his cloak.)_

**Author's Note:**

> Somrthing to get back into writing. Haven't been feeling it lately at all. Enjoy!


End file.
